The present invention is generally directed to a method of recovering scrap metal. More particularly the invention is directed to a method of recovering iron waste slag from a steel producing furnace.
In the production of steel there is always a layer of slag that covers the open top of the steel furnace. The slag is used to retain heat in the furnace and also can contain impurities that are driven out of the steel during the steel making process. The slag can also be utilized to add desirable components to the steel or contain components that will pull unneeded impurities from the steel that is being produced.
In the slag there is always a certain percentage of steel or iron that gets trapped in the slag that is produced during the steel manufacturing process. Steel producers have for years attempted to recover large pieces of steel or iron trapped in the waste slag that is a residue from the production of the steel. However, the effort of the steel companies has been to remove verily large pieces of iron or steel that is easily removed from the slag. This has resulted in a waste slag product that has a significant portion of iron or steel that is not recovered. Part of the reason that the steel producers have not attempted to recover this component of steel or iron from the waste slag is that the concentration of iron or steel was not high enough to readily make the material reusable in the steel producing process. With the increase in price for raw steel, the iron used to produce steel and the energy necessary to produce steel, the steel contained in the waste slag has increased value and there is a need to recover the iron or steel from this waste slag. In addition, if the iron or steel can be removed from the waste slag there are uses for the aggregate form from the waste slag that are enhance with the removal or reduction of the steel or iron content in the aggregate. If the waste slag aggregate can also have a relatively uniform size there are even additional uses for such aggregate.